Stanwood baseball beats Mavs to lock up district spot

STANWOOD — The Spartans had barely walked on the field before they found themselves trailing 4-0, but the Stanwood baseball team quickly rallied and eventually beat Meadowdale 9-6 to clinch the final district playoff berth in the Wesco 3A North.

Jake Campbell finished 2-for-2 with two runs scored and two RBI and Henry Hedeen added two RBI on a pair of hits, including a double, and the Spartans scored three runs in the first and two more in the second to take the lead. Tyler Givens settled down after initially getting shelled and got Stanwood to the fifth tied 5-5.

The Spartans pulled away with what head coach Colby Knudson called “some good old fashioned small ball.” The rally included several singles, a walk, and a squeeze to take the lead.

“We like to get after it, have fun, hit the ball around the park a little bit … try to get away with something if we can,” said Knudson.

Wyatt Jeans took over for Stanwood on the mound in the fifth and finished it. He struck out four and gave up one run. “(Jeans) just kind of shut the door when we needed it to be shut the most on our season.”

Stanwood (6-10 league) won its season series with Marysville Getchell (5-11) to give the Spartans the advantage if the two teams finished tied, which, with one game remaining, is the best the Chargers can do.

“It feels really good. We’ve been in every game, in almost every game we’ve played,” Knudson said. “They’ve worked really hard to come to a common goal. … I’m proud of these kids for trying to get over the hump, trying to find a way to sneak in. We’ll sit down tomorrow and try to address how we’re going to move forward.”